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PM must choose between cliff edge or backbench rebellion

Analysis

Brexit is becoming stuck between an ideological rock and an economic hard place. How Theresa May manages these competing tensions is the multibillion-euro question.

The Irish government is clear: it will not accept a hard border. Leo Varadkar said he was happy with a draft agreement including alignment of regulatory regimes on the island of Ireland in the agriculture and energy sectors. This would obviate the need for a hard border.

The DUP scuppered this deal on the basis that it would move Northern Ireland closer to the Republic in economic terms. Arlene Foster’s party was backed by Eurosceptic members of the Tory party.

Prominent members of this faction, such as Jacob Rees-Mogg, want a complete break from the EU regulations, which they fear would…

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